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“We simply can’t be the party of big, whether it’s big government or big business”

These activists—including tea-party activists but also some mainline Republicans—say the party should adopt a more populist tone, one that places more emphasis on ways Republican policies would help the middle class…

The critique from these Republicans suggests that the party should change some policies—such as adopting a more skeptical posture toward big banks—as well as the way it talks about economic issues. It comes as others in the party argue that the GOP should be wary of seeing the 2012 election results as pointing to the need for big shifts in policy or tone.

Mr. Romney’s main rivals for the GOP nomination voiced similar anti-elitist themes, often in ways that gave them only momentary boosts. Texas Gov. Rick Perry blasted what he called Mr. Romney’s record of “vulture capitalism” and “the Wall Street mentality” that he said put profits above ethics. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich attacked “crony capitalism” and supported breaking up big banks. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum cast himself as an advocate of the working class. portraying Mr. Romney as an elitist…

Former Mississippi governor and ex-party chairman Haley Barbour asserts that GOP policies aren’t the problem. “We do very well when our policies for economic growth and job creation are put in place,” he said. “But we often don’t talk about those policies in ways that the middle class and working class see as in their interest.”

Blowback

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We simply can’t be the party of big, whether it’s big government or big business

Why not? I thought we were the party of freedom. Are we not all free to exercise our ingenuity and work ethic in pursuit of building a big business?

Was just watching a special on the History Channel about Rockefeller, Carnegie, etc. Much ado was made over how mean they were to their poor workers. A couple sentences here and there talked about how they brought heat, light, and modern technology into the homes of not just most Americans, but most human beings.

And we’re gonna “soak” these people to get brownie points with a few million white-collar cubicle denizens? Sounds like a great plan for prosperity right there.

First off, I would more or less agree that the Republican Party should not be in bed with Big Business. The goal is to have as few barriers as possible to the creation or destruction of wealth. Partnering with big business, both decreases the chances that new individuals will create wealth, and decreases the chance that the current holders of wealth will lose grip on their positions sooner rather than later.

That said, Mitt Romney’s experiences with venture capitalism, were NOT a problem. He invested in struggling companies, and was sometimes able to turn them around. That is a tremendous service, and of great value to the American economy.

No, the problem is when government and big business colludes to create an anti-competitive playing field. That sort of cronyism is worth fighting against, but it shouldn’t be confused with attacking private businessmen for being successful.

No, the problem is when government and big business colludes to create an anti-competitive playing field. That sort of cronyism is worth fighting against, but it shouldn’t be confused with attacking private businessmen for being successful.

WolvenOne on November 26, 2012 at 1:54 PM

Which is exactly what Obama does. But, somehow, the GOP and Romney are incapable of making that point.

The Corporatist swamp is the home of the statist. The party of liberty should stay well away. Unfortunately, big business has the money to get all of DC to do it’s bidding in rigging free enterprise to its advantage.